Shooting in Sydney Raises Questions About Gun Control

SYDNEY, Australia — A gunman was shot lifeless by the police on Wednesday after an hourlong capturing spree throughout western Sydney that focused a house and two police stations.

The police stated the person, firing a shotgun in the course of a busy suburb, wounded a number of officers, together with one who suffered a head harm.

The capturing comes at a time of rising concern amongst gun management advocates in Australia who’ve been arguing for years that the nation’s strict gun legal guidelines — handed after a mass capturing in 1996 — have been weakened over time by a small however highly effective gun foyer.

Gun possession has elevated over the previous 20 years, with roughly three.2 million firearms in circulation, in response to gunpolicy.org, and up to date stories have proven that gun house owners now have extra weapons — about three.9 weapons every in contrast with 2.1 weapons in 1997.

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Indiscriminate gun violence, whereas nonetheless uncommon, appears to be re-emerging throughout the nation.

In June, a gunman shot and killed 4 folks within the northern metropolis of Darwin. And final 12 months, seven folks, together with 4 kids, have been discovered lifeless from gunshot wounds. It was the nation’s worst mass capturing in additional than 20 years.

New South Wales, the state that features Sydney, is usually described as Australia’s least restrictive jurisdiction relating to safety from weapons as a result of it permits using silencers, has eliminated a requirement that folks present a purpose for proudly owning additional firearms and doesn’t restrict ammunition purchases.

But it was not clear if Wednesday’s capturing mirrored any of those broader tendencies. The police stated the motive for Wednesday’s capturing was not clear, and they didn’t determine the gunman, or element his historical past with weapons.

The violence began round eight:45 p.m. when the gunman, armed with a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun, fired on a house, then traveled to a police station and fired a number of photographs on the constructing.

Twenty minutes later, he appeared exterior the Penrith police station and fired a number of rounds earlier than being shot lifeless by the police.

Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy of the NSW Police Metropolitan Field Operations described the assault on the police as “excessive.”